Official FlightLine RC 1200mm F8F-1 Bearcat Thread

[Tsmith]

Good for you TS, you'll love it!!

Grossman56

Thanks Grossman...I'm very excited to get this bird. I'm going to try varathane for the first time on this plane...any tips or tricks you guys have on applying the varathane?

[Alpha]

Oooooh ooooh, they're back in stock. Order placed! :p

I'm glad you got on, Tsmith! Great Beechcraft Model 17, by the way!!!

[flyingiceberg]

I now have all the decals on and am ready to apply the Varathane. I kind of messed up on the "70" decals. I put both of them on the fuselage but they are not even on both sides. One is more forward than the other. There is no way to correct this without peeling off paint so I guess I will have to live with it.

[Ron1950]

waiting on a new prop hub as I lost one of the screws that holds the blades on so cant fly mine yet.....maybe tomorrow

[TiredIronGRB]

waiting on a new prop hub as I lost one of the screws that holds the blades on so cant fly mine yet.....maybe tomorrow

Make sure the screw isn't stuck on the magnets in your motor.

[Ron1950]

yes thanks I lost it down a heating duct I think and I am not going in there lol ill have a new set of screws tomorrow in the mail

[Grossman56]

I've used Varathane on most of my planes now, having tried Minwax and found that Varathane is a bit better. You can get the same results with Minwax, just takes more layers, so....
I apply mine with a 1" foam brush and work it on width wise, then brush it length wise, front to back, once done, I'll keep an eye on in for any runs or build up and rebrush as needed. If I want to get to the next layer quickly, I'll use the hair dryer on it, on low and at a 12" distance approximately, Keeping it moving quickly. The foam will take a fair amount of heat, but hey, why chance it.
In this case, I coated it in the evening, let her sit until morning and gave it a second coat. Flew it the next day and gave her a third coat afterwards, look great with three coats.
I've tried it with an airbrush, this might be a great idea for a final coat, but I found it puts a pretty thin layer on, so it takes longer and the spray is not healthy, so maybe in a well ventilated situation, but hey, the brush works better for me. One other thing, the Varathane works great right out of the can in an airbrush, no thinning and you can use it as a glaze as well if you want to add a slight amount of color to it.
Things to watch:
Make sure your control surfaces are free after it dries.
Avoid getting it on pushrods as they can get jammed in the channels.
Same with servos, there's no need to coat them anyway.
Just remember that once its dry, its a thin coat of plastic for all intents and purposes and although it has a UV protectant, the plane is a very dark color, so avoid letting it sit in the sun, especially during those long Summer days of great flying weather we're going to have!
Ron brings up a great point as well, I now have a spare spinner and spare props for every plane in the hangar except for the Bearcat, I try to keep a minimum of two sets of prop blades for each. Going to have to get some for her as well, The incident with the P40, where I had to wait months for a new spinner taught me this lesson, for the sake of a spinner she sat from June until September, lesson learned.

Grossman56

[crxmanpat]

As soon as I run out of this can of Minwax, I'm switching to Varathane. :)

[Tsmith]

I've used Varathane on most of my planes now, having tried Minwax and found that Varathane is a bit better. You can get the same results with Minwax, just takes more layers, so....
I apply mine with a 1" foam brush and work it on width wise, then brush it length wise, front to back, once done, I'll keep an eye on in for any runs or build up and rebrush as needed. If I want to get to the next layer quickly, I'll use the hair dryer on it, on low and at a 12" distance approximately, Keeping it moving quickly. The foam will take a fair amount of heat, but hey, why chance it.
In this case, I coated it in the evening, let her sit until morning and gave it a second coat. Flew it the next day and gave her a third coat afterwards, look great with three coats.
I've tried it with an airbrush, this might be a great idea for a final coat, but I found it puts a pretty thin layer on, so it takes longer and the spray is not healthy, so maybe in a well ventilated situation, but hey, the brush works better for me. One other thing, the Varathane works great right out of the can in an airbrush, no thinning and you can use it as a glaze as well if you want to add a slight amount of color to it.
Things to watch:
Make sure your control surfaces are free after it dries.
Avoid getting it on pushrods as they can get jammed in the channels.
Same with servos, there's no need to coat them anyway.
Just remember that once its dry, its a thin coat of plastic for all intents and purposes and although it has a UV protectant, the plane is a very dark color, so avoid letting it sit in the sun, especially during those long Summer days of great flying weather we're going to have!
Ron brings up a great point as well, I now have a spare spinner and spare props for every plane in the hangar except for the Bearcat, I try to keep a minimum of two sets of prop blades for each. Going to have to get some for her as well, The incident with the P40, where I had to wait months for a new spinner taught me this lesson, for the sake of a spinner she sat from June until September, lesson learned.

Grossman56

Thanks for the tips Grossman!! Now I just need to find the Varathane locally. I may have to order it through Home Depot.

[Grossman56]

I believe it was HD that I got it at, but it may have been Lowes. Billings is about a two hour drive from here where all the big box stores are, so when we go we usually have a shopping list.

Grossman56

[crxmanpat]

So I went to CG my Bearcat today. First I put in the Admiral 4S 4000 that I planned to use. With it pushed all the way forward, CG wound up at 92mm (supposed to be 85mm). So I went and got the Zippy Compact 4S 6200 that I use in my P-38, which is 6oz heavier than the Admiral 4000. Sitting 1/4" back from the forward wall, it now CGs correctly. I will test fly it this weekend with that battery.

If this works good for the Bearcat, I'll be purchasing more of them.

[Grossman56]

Interesting Pat. I flew mine with a 3600 all the way forward and it was fine. I tried the 4000 in it to measure the CG with it all the way forward and it came out at the rearward edge of the exhaust panel, very little difference so it should fly fine. Now, with a 3600 I flew a mix of throttle positions for 5 minutes and landed wit 71% still on the batteries! So if the 6200 works, you could fly, dare I say it, for close to 10 minutes!
I'd be interested to hear how it does, let us know!

Grossman56

[crxmanpat]

Yeah, I have a 3600 also that I had planned to use. I will fly it with all 3 packs on Saturday and report back my findings.

If the 6200s work out, then I'll use those for this and the P-38, and save the 3600 and 4000 for the FMS P-40.

[OV10]

Interesting Pat. I flew mine with a 3600 all the way forward and it was fine. I tried the 4000 in it to measure the CG with it all the way forward and it came out at the rearward edge of the exhaust panel, very little difference so it should fly fine. Now, with a 3600 I flew a mix of throttle positions for 5 minutes and landed wit 71% still on the batteries! So if the 6200 works, you could fly, dare I say it, for close to 10 minutes!
I'd be interested to hear how it does, let us know!

Grossman56

Based on your observed numbers with the same rate mix of throttle.........damn near 15min with that 6200 is my projection.

[Grossman56]

Could be awesome Charlie!
Just got back from three more flights with her. Took off from work early to get some flying in as, again, its simply beautiful here in Cody. In the 60s with a 5 to 8 mph wind right down the runway, just begging me to come and fly!!
Ran three 4000's in her this time with the same results, all registered 70-71% and that's in a wind.
BTW, she handles the wind like it isn't there.
In a lot of ways, she reminds me of the Pandora, just tell her what to do and she does it in style!
I can't believe the weather here and am hoping for another great weekend, sooner or later, we'll pay, but I'm getting my late late season flights in and its paying off in spades.
One of the coolest looking maneuvers is to give her full throttle and a dive, then yank her back and let her climb vertically, rolling as she goes. It's not unlimited, but man its pretty darned close!!
I'm wondering what the numbers are with the upgraded motor and the stock prop.

I'm getting a 110 A draw with the static thrust calculator. Now its been a while since I've used it, so can someone run the numbers and confirm this?

Grossman56

[Ron1950]

you guys might be checking your hinges...my elevator is torn over half way and its had one 5 min flight....going for some pin hinges today

[flyingiceberg]

Since it has been mentioned on another forum, I figure I would post this here. Let me start off by saying all foam hinges will eventually fail. (Just not this fast) Ther is an issue with the hinges on the ailerons. Mine came with a set of hinges on one and cracks on the other side. I contacted motion even one of those guys has a wing that shows cracks. He said they would stand behind the wing but pointed out that even his has one like that. They did not offer to replace it. I have not even maidened mine yet. Here are a few pictures

[Grossman56]

I checked mine and she was fine.
Some Foam-Tac will work from what I've seen and also the Varathane adds another layer of 'grip'.
I made mention of the clear tree of parts that came with mine and was told that they were hinges, so if all else fails, use those.

Grossman56

[crxmanpat]

Got the maiden and three subsequent flights done with the Bearcat today. First flight was using a Zippy Compact 4S 6200. Had the timer set for 6 minutes. Takeoff with no flaps was non-eventful (had a steady 5-6mph headwind). I must have gotten lucky, because this is the first plane I've ever flown that needed no trim whatsoever. I was completely comfortable with the plane 30 seconds into the flight.

After 6 minutes I came in for a perfect 3-point landing with no flaps due to the headwind. Brought it over to check out the battery, and still had 66% left. So I turned right around and flew another 6-minute flight. After landing, I still had 31% left, which is right where I like it.

Overall a fantastic flyer. Loops and rolls were very easy, inverted required just a hint of down elevator, and she handled the winds just fine. I actually managed to get several touch and go's in, just hitting the mains and going back up. No hint of wanting to nose over.

The final flight was done with an Admiral 4S 4000 (black label, not the Pro). No noticeable difference from the 6200 as far as flying characteristics. And based on what others have said, she may have a pretty wide CG range. But I preferred the flights with the 6200s. I think she really likes the extra weight, especially on a somewhat windy day. After 6 minutes on the 4000, I still had 65% left.

One guy at the field got some pics, and I'm waiting for him to email them to me.

This plane gets a big thumbs up from me!

[Grossman56]

Hey Pat, sounds right in line with what I'm getting for flight time. So, here we are with a plane that can get a 12 minute flight? The 6200 will have to be something I look into.
I found that when I tried the 4000 after flying the initial flights with the 3600 batteries. She seems to like a little bit more weight with no noticeable effect on the CG.

Grossman56